Sprayer having a reservoir with a spray head mounted tightly thereon



Dec. 22, 1964 M. VIARD SPRAYER HAVING A RESERVOIR wIIH A SPRAY HEAD MOUNTED TIGHTLY THEREON Filed Jan. 21, 1963 United States Patent O W The invention relates to sprayers and more particularly to small sprayers for containing for example perfume.

Such sprayers are known in which a pump located in the upper part or head of the sprayer introduces into the reservoir compressed air which discharges the liquid through a tube which extends down to the bottom of the reservoir and communicates with a calibrated orifice formed in the head of the sprayer.

In another type of sprayer, the air pump entrains through the calibrated orifice the liquid contained in a kind of liquid reserve formed in a porous mass, such as a felt pad, which is disposed in the head of the sprayer and whose impregnation is obtained by inverting the sprayer so as to permit the liquid contained in the reservoir to enter said reserve.

These two types of sprayers have drawbacks, in particular from the point of view of fluidtightness, and in order to remedy these drawbacks as far as possible it is necessary to dispose in the conduits putting the reservoir in communication with the spraying orice or with the air inlet, valve systems which, owing to their small size, are fragile and materially increase the cost price.

The object of the present invention is to provide a sprayer which does not have these drawbacks and which is particularly simple in construction and combines the advantages of the sprayers operating under pressure with those of the sprayers having a porous element.

For this purpose the head of the sprayer comprises an air pump communicating with a spraying oriiice through the medium of a mass of felt or other porous material and the piston of the air pump also actuates a plunger rod which is slidable in a fluidtight manner in a sealing ele- 3,162,372 Patented Dec. 22, 1964 ICC munication with the head only when the piston has been depressed a given distance, it will be understood that when the sprayer is at rest or not being used and the piston has risen to the upper end of its travel, no such communication is possible and the sprayer is perfectly uidtight in all positions thereof.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description, with reference to the accompanying drawing to which the invention is in no.way limited.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a sprayer according to the invention,

FIGS. 2-5 are partial sectional views of the passageway formed in the plunger rod.

With reference to the drawing, the reference character 1 designates the reservoir containing the liquid 2 to be sprayed and having a neck 3 on which is screwthreadedly engaged, with interposition of a sealing element 4, a sprayer head 5. The upper part of the head 5 constitutes a cylinder in which is movable an air pump piston 6 which is actuated by a push button 7 and biased by a spring 8 toward its upper position of abutment against an annular abutment 9. The chamber 10 of the cylinder in which the piston 6 moves communicates at its lower part with the exterior by Way of a spraying nozzle 11 and it is separated from the reservoir by a horizontal wall 12 which bears against the sealing element 4. This wall 12 is provided at its centre with a cylindrical orice 13 which extends downwardly toward the reservoir 1 in the form of a nozzle element 14 on which is fitted a flexible pipe 15 Y this upper face and the member 17 are covered by a felt ment closing an aperture communicating with the resf ervoir, said rod comprising a passageway or other cavity which is ad-apted, in a given position of depression of the rod, to put the spaces located on each side of the sealing element in communication with one another.

According to another feature of the invention, the orifice communicating with the reservoir communicates with a nozzle which extends down to the lower part of the reservoir and in which extends with clearance the lower end of the slidable rod.

Owing to these arrangements the passageway formed in the plunger rod permits, in the course of the depression of the rod and at the moment when it is located at the level of the fluidtight sealing element, a ycertain volume of compressed lair to enter the nozzle located in this reservoir.

Under the effect of its own pressure and that exerted by the rod constituting a free piston, this air is urged through the nozzle toward the part of the reservoir located above the liquid and when, after a number of depressions of the piston, the pressure above the liquid reaches a sufficiently high value, the liquid rises in the nozzle and thenceforth it in turn passes through said passageway -and enters the space which is situated above the sealing element and contains the felt washer or mass. When the latter is suiiiciently impregnated, the air compressed by the piston in the upper chamber urges the liquid toward the spraying orifice and the sprayer is ready to operate.

As the sprayer head is fixed on the reservoir in a lluidtight manner and the sliding rod slides in its sealing element in a uidtight manner and puts the reservoir in comdisc 18 on which the spring 8 bears through the medium of `a light metal disc 19.

The calibrated orifice 11 of the spraying nozzle is located substantially at the level of the median plane of the disc 18.

The piston 6 carries at its centre a cylindrical rod 20 which extends through the discs 18 and 19 and is slidably mounted in la fluidtight manner in the member 17 which forms a sealing element around the rod 20. The latter constitutes a plunger in that it extends with an annular clearance e in the nozzle 14.

Provided in the rod `20 is an oblique passageway 21 which is located, in the upper position of the piston 6, entirely above the sealing element -'17 and preferably also f above the discs 18 and 19. The obliqueness of the passageway 21 is such that when it is situated, in the course of depressing the piston 6, at the level of the sealing element 17 in the position shown in dot-dash line in FIG. 1, its lower orifice communicates with the underside of the sealing element 17 and its upper orifice communicates with the upper side of this element so as to put the nozzle 114 `in communication with the chamber 10 in the thickness of the disc-18.

As shown in lFGS. 2, 3 and 4, the passageway 21 could also be formed by an annular groove 22 (FIG. 2), a vertical passageway '23 which communicates with the exterior of the rod through two horizontal passageways (FIG. 3), or a simple slotting 24 in the wall of the rod 20 (FIG. 4). Alternatively this rod `20 could be hollow and comprise orilices 25 and 26 placed a suitable distance apart (FIG. 5).

In any case, the distance d must exceed the thickness of the sealing element 17.

The sprayer operates in the following manner:

When the push button 7 is depressed, the piston 6 compresses the air contained in the chamber 10 and this air escapes partly through the orifice 11 by way of the felt Then, as thev rod v2G continues to move downwardly, it forms a piston and expels this air which rises in thel form of bubbles up to the chamber 27 above the liquid 2. When vthe rod 2t) rises with theV piston 6 in its return travel, the liquid rises in r`the nozzle 14 and if the pressure in the chamber 27 is sufficient that is, when sufIi-I cient compressed ai-r has been supplied and as soon aS the passage 21 returns to the position shown in dot-dash line, the liquid is urgedthrough this passageway21 into the felt 18. When afterv a few strokes of the piston the felt I18 is sufficiently impregnated, the air which is expelled through the orifice 11 entrains liquid therewith and the sprayer then operates` normally. v

It` will be understood that in order that the 'liquid rising in the nozzle 14 be freely urged through the passageway 211 toward the chamber 10, it is necessary Vthat 'the annular clearanceV e have sufficient value, thatis, it

must be at least on the order of the section of the pas-V sageway 21. Further, it has beenobserved thatffor ai given liquid the nature ofthe spray jet provided bythe a plunger rod ffixed on said piston inside said piston chamber and slidable in a fluidtight manner through said first and second openings; said plunger rod having a passageway whose ends, at least, communicate with the space around said plunger rod, the distance between said ends being sufficient,A in. a given positionof the plunger rod, to put said reservoirychamiber into communication with said piston chambergand conduit means extending from said aperture down to the lower part of said reservoir, the lower end of said plunger rod extending, withclearance, into the upper end of said conduit means.

2. A sprayer adapted to operate in the normal ,upright position, this sprayer comprising: a liquid reservoir havinga reservoir chamber, and a sprayer head mounted in orifice 111 is ya function of the lsection of thepassageway..v Y

21. The greater the section of the Ypassageway 21, provided the 'clearance e is suflicient, the more the jet isf charged vwith the liquid, that is, the coarser the jet.

Experience has shown thatl sufficient pressure inthe chamber 27 for causing the liquid to rise into the felt 1S and form a spray is reached very rapidly, for example in two or three piston strokes. At the end ofV a certain period of operation, the levelrof the liquid having dropped in the reservoir I1, the pressure in the chamber 27 drops until it becomes less thanthat prevailing in the upper end of the passageway 21..V Air is then once more supplied in the courseV of the following ,piston strokes and the pressure inthe chamber 27 once morerbecomes suf'licient for maintaining the column ofsliquid up tothe sealing element 17. However,v once they felt 18 isl sufiivajiluidti'ght manner on said reservoir; said sprayer head comprising a wall deiining a piston chamber, said wall having a spraying Vorifice provided therethroughbetween said piston chamber and the atmosphere and an aperture between said reservoir chamber and said piston chamber, a sealing elementclosing said aperture and having a first opening, a mass of porous material inside vsaid ypiston chamber at the level of said spraying orifice and applied against said sealing element and said sprayingI oriiice whereby said piston chamber `communicates with the atmosphere through said porous mass and said spraying orifice, said porous mass having a second opening in axial alignment ywith said Vrst opening; a piston reciprocatable in said piston chamber, a plunger rod 4fixed on said pistoninside said piston chamber and slidable in a fluidtight manner through said` first and secondl openings, said plunger rod having a passageway whose ends, at least,` communicate with the space around said plunger rod, the distance between` said ends beinglargery than the thickness of said sealing element;and conduit means extending from said aperture down to `thelower part of said reservoir, thelower end kof said plunger'rod extending, with clearance, into the upper end of said conduit means.

3. Asprayer as claimed in claim 2 wherein said sealing l element is a member of .plastic material.

ciently impregntaed the sprayingV continues normally even during the` Yperiod torre-establishing pressure inthe chamber 27. Y n

Although specific embodiments of the Yinvention have been described, many modiiications and changes'may. beV

made therein lwithoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. This is particularly true as concernsA the shape of the sprayer, the nature and position of the porous mass 18 and sealing element 17. Y

Having now ldescribed my invention whatIv claim as new and desire to secure by ,Letters Patent is:v l Y 1. A sprayer adapted to operate in the normal upright position, this sprayer comprising: a liquid reservoir having a reservoir chamber, and a sprayer head mounted -in a iiuidtight manner on said reservoir; said fsprayerhead comprising a wall defining a piston chamber, said-wall having a spraying orifice provided therethrough between said piston chamber and the atmosphere and an aperture between said reservoir chamberY and said piston chamber,

a sealing element closing said aperture and having a first opening, a mass of porous material inside said piston chamiber at the level of said spraying orificeand applied against said spraying orifice whereby said piston chamber communicates with the atmosphere through said porous mass and said spraying orifice, said porous mass having a second opening in axial alignment with said first sectionalsize of the annular yclearance formed aroundl the plunger rod in the conduit means extending into the s 'ese'rvoir is at 'least l equal to that of the passageway formed inthe plunger rod.V i 5. A sprayer as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plunger rod is -solid andthe passageway is formed "byra conduit extending in said plunger rod.

4. A'spr'ayer as claimed in claim v2, wherein the cross- 6. A lsprayer as claimed in claim A2, wherein said plung-v errod is solid and the passageway is formed by yan annular groove formed inthe wall of said plunger rod.

- '7. A sprayer as claimedin claim 2, wherein said plunger' is solid and the passageway is formed by a slotting formed in the wall of the plungerV rod.

8, 'Ak sprayer as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plunger rod is hollow and its lower end is closed, two

apertures extending through the wall of said rod.

9. A sprayer as claimed `in claim 2, wherein the distance betweenV the ends of 'the passageway is less than the opening; a piston reciprocatable in said piston chamber, .A

total thickness of the sealing element and the porous mass. l 10. A sprayer asV claimed in claim 2,l lwherein they distance between the ends of the passageway is larger than the total thickness of .the sealing element andthe porous mass.V v

A2,607,626 Aug. Y19, y1952 3,092,331 Kiashek --.Q June 4, 

1. A SPRAYER ADAPTED TO OPERATE IN THE NORMAL UPRIGHT POSITION, THIS SPRAYER COMPRISING: A LIQUID RESERVOIR HAVING A RESERVOIR CHAMBER, AND A SPRAYER HEAD MOUNTED IN A FLUIDTIGHT MANNER ON SAID RESERVOIR; SAID SPRAYER HEAD COMPRISING A WALL DEFINING A PISTON CHAMBER, SAID WALL HAVING A SPRAYING ORIFICE PROVIDED THERETHROUGH BETWEEN SAID PISTON CHAMBER AND THE ATMOSPHERE AND AN APERTURE BETWEEN SAID RESERVOIR CHAMBER AND SAID PISTON CHAMBER, A SEALING ELEMENT CLOSING SAID APERTURE AND HAVING A FIRST OPENING, A MASS OF POROUS MATERIAL INSIDE SAID PISTON CHAMBER AT THE LEVEL OF SAID SPRAYING ORIFICE AND APPLIED AGAINST SAID SPRAYING ORIFICE WHEREBY SAID PISTON CHAMBER COMMUNICATES WITH THE ATMOSPHERE THROUGH SAID POROUS MASS AND SAID SPRAYING ORIFICE, SAID POROUS MASS HAVING A SECOND OPENING IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID FIRST 